Andy Dalton averaged 66.1 percent completion on his passes last season.
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers Time: 1 PM ET Spread: PIT -2.5 M/L: PIT -165, CIN +145 Total: 49
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The Cincinnati Bengals were week 1 winners over the New York Jets 23-22. Andy Dalton threw 23 of 30 for completion in racking up 366 yards and a TD, but he did throw an interception and was sacked seven times for 42 yards loss.
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Dalton rushed three times for just seven yards, and the Bengals did not get a lot going on the ground with just 57 rushing yards. Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard combined for all of those pretty much, and the Bengals averaged 3.0 yards per rush attempt on 19 carries. A.J. Green had a field day at WR, though, with 12 catches for 180 yards and a TD, including hauling in 12 of 13 targeted plays.
Brandon LaFell had 91 yards on four catches and the Bengals picked up 366 passing yards on 15.9 yards per attempt. Defensively, Karlos Dansby had 11 tackles, five solo and one tackle for loss, but the Bengals picked up just one sack in the game (Geno Atkins, who also had three tackles for loss). Josh Shaw came up with an interception. Adam Jones and Alex Erickson each returned kicks with Jones taking two back for 35 yards and Erickson gaining 15 yards on his attempt. Both returned a punt, with Erickson going 15 yards and Jones six.
Mike Nugent hit 3 of 4 FGA with a long of 47-yards and went 2 of 2 on extra point attempts, while punter Kevin Huber averaged 48 yards per punt on his three attempts with one pinned in the 20 and a long of 58-yards.
Dalton is in his sixth NFL season out of TCU, and the former second round pick threw for 3,250 yards last season in 13 games with an 8.42 yard per attempt average and a 66.1 percent completion ratio, the highest of his NFL career. He has thrown 62 percent or better the last four NFL seasons, and this year is doing exceptionally well at 76.7 percent through just one week, of course. Last season Dalton rushed for 142 yards on 57 attempts, and ideally the Bengals would like that average to rise some. He averaged 3.0 yards per attempt in 2013, and a return to that type of average would be more ideal, if not towards 3.5 per carry.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Washington Redskins 38-16 in Week 1. Ben Roethisberger threw 27 of 37 for 300 yards with three TDs and one interception. He was sacked just once and finished with a passer rating of 112.4. Antonio Brown was the biggest beneficiary with eight catches for 126 yards and a pair of TD, catching 8 of 11 targeted passes. Eli Rogers and Sammie Coates each caught for 59 and 56 yards respectively, while Rogers had a TD and caught 6 of 7 targeted passes.
RB DeAngelo Williams had a big game with 143 yards on 26 carries and two TDs. He had all but four of the Steelers rushing yards, as Roethisberger rushed just once for a loss of two yards. The Steelers defense did not record a single sack. James Harrison and Ryan Shazier both did come up with interceptions, though.
Fitzgerald Toussaint returned one kick for 18 yards, and the Steelers did not return a punt. Kicker Chris Boswell hit his only FGA, a 46-yarder, while making all five of his extra point attempts to finish with eight points. Steelers punter Jordan Berry averaged 53.5 yards on his two attempts with one going 61-yards.
